My second sail of this week was on Pieter and Mirian’s (owners of the former Passaat) new boat No1SXM.

Ann Elliott (AnnandSteve) and I were picked up in a dinghy at the fish market. Imagine our surprise to learn we were the only two passengers! It was a wonderful day of just sailing. We stayed at Happy Bay for awhile and had lunch there. Irma really took a toll on the vegetation in that area.

There were a bunch of dogs enjoying the beach.

Sailing on No1SXM was a very different experience from the Passaat but I loved it because I enjoy sailing. You feel the water more in this boat because it’s smaller, and seating is currently at a premium. Mirian is working on options to increasing seating. The boat is fast and it was another great day on the water.

I had contacted Neil Roebert to see if I could see his boat sometime while I was on the island, and we agreed to meet after I got off the sail. I followed him to where his boat is docked as it would have been a little difficult to describe its location. What a beautiful boat! Much larger than either of the previous Celines; spacious, really. It has five staterooms, each with its own en suite bath. When the boat gets up and running, in addition to day sails, he is contemplating some overnight trips to perhaps St. Barts or other nearby islands, where the guests would be responsible for filling the staterooms with their own friends or family. He would provide breakfast and lunch, but dinners would be on shore. He is still working on the details, but it sounds like a lot of fun.

I invited Ann to come along on the “Neil excursion” and then gave her a ride to The Palms, where she was meeting her husband. Traffic going toward Philipsburg was ridiculous, so I stayed at The Palms with them for dinner.

Thursday, June 21

I had been communicating with Ruby Bute about taking her to lunch. The prior day, she told me she had been bitten by a centipede and had a swollen knee, resulting in difficulty walking. I had invited Ann to join us for lunch so we decided to take lunch to Ruby. From a prior lunch with her, I knew she liked Enoch’s in Marigot, where the setup for the food faire on Friday and Saturday was taking place. What a ZOO – parking was at a premium. Finally made it to Enoch’s where the staff knew what Ruby liked to eat. Finally we were on our way to Ruby’s with lunch in hand.

A photo shoot was in progress when we arrived so lunch was delayed a bit while that wrapped up. The folks involved with that project stayed to chat with us for a while, sharing their amazing stories of Irma survival: cooking for 15 people, incredible bonding together, a tent community of gendarmes in the field next door to Ruby making her feel safe, and a growing sense of community. The islanders are a wonderfully resilient people, and the stories were fascinating.

After the photo folks left, Ann and I visited Ruby’s gallery and made some purchases. I fell in love with this canvas, and I’m trying to figure out how to get it home.

Finally, it was time to go. I had been invited to come see the apartment of one of the women I met at Monday’s lunch so headed to Cupecoy. Her small complex has intriguing architecture, in that residents have large patios or balconies but cannot see each other. We sat on her patio enjoying the peacefulness and beautiful lagoon views.

We visited the apartment of one of her neighbors (who was also at Monday’s lunch), and I enjoyed her significant art collection.

I then headed to Dany’s for a punch and the view and met Billy the goat in the process.

At one time, Horny Toad’s web site had invited folks to drop by to see their construction progress, so I did. Debby was out of town helping her mom, who is having either hip or knee surgery, but Doug was there and showed me around. They are hoping to reopen late October although Doug admits that’s an aggressive goal. I didn’t take any photos, but the cement for the floor on the second level was just put down the day before. Doug is writing a blog about their daily progress which you can find on their web site. I would like to return in November, but Doug said they aren’t taking reservations. Those who opted to not have their November 2017 deposit returned do have reservations for November 2018. I had requested that mine be returned as I had paid in full. However, Doug took a “tentative” reservation as I am a returning guest, and we’ll see what Debby says when she gets back in town. Fingers crossed.

Rather than heading back to Divi to get cleaned up for dinner and then go out again, I dropped by Karakter for dinner and the view; recurring theme? The food and service were OK, and the music wasn’t too loud. Live music started before I left.

Friday, June 22

After working out, I was able to snag the only working guest washing machine so did a load of laundry. I had wanted to go to a beach today, but it wasn’t looking like a beach day. Lunch was on my deck, watching very black clouds move around the sky. Unfortunately, while there were a few sprinkles, heavy rain, so very badly needed, didn’t materialize.

Dinner was at Mario Bistrot.

Appetizer was French oysters; good, but very different from the Willapa oysters I’m accustomed to in the Northwest.

While duck breast was a special, I opted for a tuna entrée. It was served with green beans with almonds and blue cheese, and baby potatoes. Very, very good.

I said last week I was looking forward to four sails; unfortunately, only two materialized. One of them was to be a twelve-hour sail on Spellbound to Anguilla for a blues festival there. Because of that long day, I cancelled a sunset sail on No1SXM. Then there wasn’t enough interest in the Anguilla sail so that was also cancelled.

I love that you were able to see Mark Yokohama at his creative work. He is one of the founders of Les Fruites De Mere which is an amazing SXM local organization educating people on the local land and sea wildlife, plant life and the history of the island.

Nice photos. Glad to see that some sand is back at Cupecoy. Thanks for reporting on the Horny Toad. We have been going there for 14 years and loved it. Betty was always great and now I'm sure Deb and Doug will take over and keep it the way it was. We're ready to go back next February.

Nice that you were able to catch up with Ruby. I like what you purchased. Have you figured out how to get it back home? Gosh, back-in-the-day I have a picture of me standing on the tarmac with my purse, carry-on, and a wrapped up painting. Pre 9/11 of course, and pre greedy airlines charging for every little piece of space. Laura Richardson knows how to get shipments out, you might check with her if Ruby doesn't have suggestions and you cannot carry it. How large is it? Any chance it would fit in the closet up near the [censored]-pit? That's where I had my wedding dress 8 years ago.

Look as if you had a nice sail on No1SXM. That is exactly how our cruise was, just the two of us. Very personal, very private. Loved it!

One of the women I had lunch with at Sol e Luna is very good friends with the Richardsons and told me Laura uses DHL. I am picking up the painting from Ruby on Wednesday, and she has insisted on cooking lunch for me. I will take it to either DHL or Fedex as carrying it on just isn't something I want to deal with. I'm not sure of the exact dimensions but it's too large to go into a suitcase.